Fans of "Mr. Food" Mourn His Passing Wednesday

WESTON, Florida (CNN) -- Art Ginsburg, who as "Mr. Food" demonstrated recipes and cooking tips in 90-second segments for millions of TV viewers over more than 30 years, died Wednesday of cancer, a company official said.

Ginsburg, 81, died at his home in Weston, Florida, said Howard Rosenthal, an executive at Ginsberg's Florida-based Mr. Food Brand.

Ginsburg, whose syndicated "Mr. Food" segments were shown on more than 125 television stations nationwide as of June, was known to enthusiastically sign off with his signature phrase, "Ooh, it's so good!"

"What you saw on TV was how Art was off TV," Rosenthal said.

Ginsburg's "commitment to anyone-can-do recipes and passion for helping others made him well-loved among his peers and among television viewers and website visitors," a message on the "Mr. Food" website said. "He was one of the first television celebrity chefs and paved a road for many who came after him."

Ginsburg worked as a butcher and owned a catering business before debuting a cooking segment on a TV talk show in upstate New York in 1975.

He began self-syndicating a 90-second "Mr. Food" TV segment to nine television markets in 1980. King World Productions -- now CBS Television Distribution -- began syndicating him in 1982, his company's website says.

He established his own company, which by 1994 had a TV studio, a test kitchen and publishing offices in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His company has produced more than 50 cookbooks by 2009.

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